Abuja – The Inspector-General of Police (IG), Mr Solomon Arase, has assured that the newly established Complaint Response Unit (CRU) will effectively respond to issues of misconduct among policemen.
Arase gave the assurance at a meeting of some Civil Society Organisations and government agencies with the head of the CRU on Monday in Abuja.
He noted that the CRU was not a total panacea to solving problems of misconduct in the force.
“I can assure you that we will make the Complaint Response Unit to work.
“I will continue to create the platforms that we will continue to up our operations,“he said.
Arase stated that his administration would continue to do its best to enhance the service delivery of the force.
“I can assure you that under my watch, I will do everything that will edify the police.
“We intend not to leave the police force the way we met it; we will continue to do our best to make it better,“he said.
He urged members to see the police as their own and have trust in their ability to protect them.
“There is no police force anywhere in the world that will be able to carry out its mandate without the backing of members of the community,“he said.
Arase stressed the need for members of the public to be positive about the change in the system.
He said that the force management was committed to solving the issue of bad image for the force, adding that it was not a one day job.
Earlier, Ahmed Isa of the “Brekete Family”, a radio phone in programme, stressed the need for a force where policemen could report cases of injustice meted out to them too.
He said that policemen had suffered various degree of humiliation from their principals, especially politicians.
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“There is need for the force to look at complaints of policemen; they are human beings,“he said.
An official of the National Human Rights Commission, Mr Emmanuel Akaa, urged the force to give policemen the platform to channel their complaints.
He said that the commission supported the unit, adding that there was room for improvement.
Mr Ewa Udu, Head of Legal Unit at Public Complaint Commission (PCC), said that several cases within the force had been unresolved due to lack of monitoring.
He stressed the need for a monitoring group to monitor the implementation of such cases in line with IG’s instructions.
The Officer in charge, CRU, CSP Abayomi Shogunle, said that the unit was not established to witch-hunt any police officer.
He explained that before any investigation would be carried out, the onus would be on the complainant to substantiate his or her allegation.
Shogunle said that there were existing platforms for policemen to make their complaints.(NAN)
